This application is based upon French Patent Application No. 00 17126, filed on Dec. 22, 2000, the disclosure of which is hereby incorporated by reference thereto in its entirety, and the priority of which is hereby claimed under 35 U.S.C. xc2xa7119.
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an at least partially impervious boot construction adapted in particular for use in winter.
2. Description of Background and Relevant Information
Various methods are known for making a shoe impervious, i.e., impervious to water penetration. They include, for example, providing an inner liner made of a breathable and impervious material; but this construction is costly because the breathable and impervious material is very expensive and all the seams must be made impervious by sealing joints added by gluing.
Another method is to immerse the finished boot into a latex or PVC bath, up to the desired level of imperviousness. This construction is also expensive to implement, because it requires a very long processing time and costly investments.
An object of the present invention is to propose a boot whose construction is simple and cost advantageous, while having the desired characteristics, especially in terms of comfort, heat, imperviousness.
This object is achieved in the present invention due to the fact that the boot includes a sole, an outer upper having an impervious portion, and an outer reinforcing element assembled to the upper by cementing, at least in the impervious portion thereof.
Indeed, the fact that the outer reinforcement is cemented and not sewn, as in the usual boot constructions, generally makes it possible to preserve the imperviousness of the boot and to avoid the use of expensive means to seal the seams which would have been generated.